Joss Whedon Reveals “S.H.I.E.L.D.” Tone

With the pilot having wrapped, “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon talked a bit about Marvel’s much-anticipated “S.H.I.E.L.D.” TV series with TV Line. Whedon co-wrote and directed the pilot, and says the tone is more optimistic than you might expect:

“I’m excited about the show because it’s a very hopeful show. it’s not about murder, and it’s not about crime, and it’s not people looking into their own belly buttons. it’s about people who are trying to help each other, and that’s one of the things I loved about comic books. They had costumes and the villains were cool [but] they stood for something, and I like doing a show that does that.”

Whedon stresses there are not a lot of familiar Marvel characters in the show, though there is “a little bit of talk of that” should the project go to series. He adds:

“Right now, I want to involve people in the characters that we’ve created for the show and then we’ll worry about [the other stuff]… we’re trying very hard to be true to [Marvel’s] ethos and also to the structure of their universe. So it is definitely a Marvel show.”

Should it go to series, Cobie Smulders is expected to cameo as Agent Maria Hill depending upon her commitments to filming “How I Met Your Mother”. Whedon says: “if we can get a hold of her anytime, we will.”